Interview Conducted by Hasnat Afridi
Final Editing by Momin Ali Munshi
Imran Abbas is a pretty well known face in Pakistan. Having done superhit drama serials like ‘Khuda aur Muhabbat’ ‘Akbari Asghari’ among others , he is surely a household name. Known for his chocolate-hero looks, Imran last gave a memorable performance in the Tarang Housefull Telefilm ‘Anjuman’ alongside Sara Loren. Now call it luck or a mere coincidence but both of these Pakistani stars , who starred in Ajuman , are trying to make it big in Bollwood. While Sara has already made her Bollywod debut via ” Murder 3 ” Imran shall soon be making his debut in the eagerly awaited film “Creature 3D.” This film sees our very own Imran Abbas alongside the Bollywod bombshell Bipasha Basu and it has been generating quite the buzz ever since photos from the sets came out!
Creature, which is a sci-fi film, recently had its trailer launch event where the film was introduced to the media. However while Bipasha Basu entertained the media there was no sign of Imran and this got lots of people to wag their tongues. Ask Imran and he says ? “I know it was an important event for the film but I had some personal and professional issues. Firstly my mother was ill and even currently she is in the hospital. Secondly, I didn’t have the visa. I came to Pakistan a few days back, just before the trailer launch and thus I missed the event”.
Not only that but even the trailer doesn’t feature Imran Abbas quite prominently which is all that is being discussed on the social media platform these days! Imran lashes out “ Basically ‘Creature’ is the story of a woman (Bipasha Basu) whose newly built hotel is threatened by a creature so naturally the main focus had to be on her in the trailer. But I am playing the love interest of her life in the film and have quite a meaty role which eventually is present in the film”.
He is actually aware of the pre-conceived notions of certain sections of the public who believe that Imran doesn’t have a solid role in the film probably due to his short presence in trailer. Imran reveals “The promotional strategy of the film is very different and I request the audience to wait till 27th when the musical promotion starts”. With that we notice a sudden sense of confidence and excitement in his tone. Imran says that he is very excited for the music videos of the film to release as he believes that these videos will be his launching pad. The music of the film is being launched by T-Series and has five songs in the film and guess what? All the five songs have Imran in them!
Imran gushes ‘There is this one rain song which was the last recorded song for the film. It has been sung by Arijit Singh and I personally love that one.” Well considering Arjit Singh songs are all the rave these days we truly believe that the song shall be amazing!
Finally we come to the question that everyone has on their minds which is how was it like working with the sensational Bipasha Basu ? Imran replies “It was great! She is a pure professional actress and makes sure that others on the set are comfortable in her presence. It was really fun working with her. You know we were filming in Ooty ,a hill station in India, so it was very cold. Whenever we used to get a break, we would play indoor and outdoor games. It was a like a picnic.” We interrupt him right here by inquiring whether Bipasha was impressed by Imran’s shudh Hindi speaking skills. Imran laughs and says “Hahaha! Well, Urdu and Hindi are almost on the same lines and as I belong to a very literate family so the command over language was a natural phenomenon. Plus, my love for literature added to the dialect proficiency”.
But why isn’t he giving our local actresses an opportunity to gush over his language skills? Imran is quick to reply “I have signed a drama serial for Hum Tv where I have Mawra Hocane and Sanum Jung as the leading ladies. It’s my love for Pakistani serials which has forced me into signing this play despite doing films in Bollywood”.
But why not Lollywood one wonders? He is probably the only actor from television to get offers from the crème de la crème of the film industry. Directors like Shehzad Rafique , Reema Khan , Syed Noor all have approached him but nothing has ever finalized. To this he says “I am happy on the re-generation of our film industry and consider myself blessed on getting such good offers. Currently I cant say much but once anything is finalized, I will surely share it with my fans”.
Imran is also happy that lots of other Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan , Humaima Malick , Ali Zafar and Sara Loren are coming into Bollywood. He terms this as a ‘healthy’ sign but also advices his colleagues to sign their films carefull. He says “ As I have gone through a lot while entering Bollywood , therefore I would say to all the actors wanting to make a mark in this industry to select their scripts mindfully as it’s a very different industry as compared to ours here in Pakistan.”
Besides Creature, Imran also has completed his second Bollywood feature film Raqs which has been directed by veteran director Muzaffar Ali (of Umrao Jaan fame) who has worked with the likes of Rekha. Raqs is a period film where Imran is playing the role of a “prince”. Not only that, he has also singed 3 more films, all coming from big production houses. In an industry where producers are reluctant on signing a newcomera (and that too Pakistani new comers ) and where the fate of the newcomer is decided only after the release of his debut film , Imran Abbas has signed a total of 4 films even before release of his debut release ! Quite a feat that is and surely a moment of pride for Pakistan indeed.
We , at Galaxy Lollywood , wish Imran Abbas the best of luck for his Bollywood career and hope that his debut film Creature turns out to be a bumper success. However with that having said we also want to see him in our own Pakistani movies too!
Pakistani directors are you listening? The ‘hero’ is back in town.
This is awesome man! Loved it!